Cavaliers' Darius Garland Makes Bold Statement On Evan Mobley

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland is excited for what Evan Mobley may be bringing to the table for the 2024-25 NBA season.

Nov 30, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) and guard Darius Garland (10) wait to enter the game in the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

Heavy expectations have been placed on the shoulders of Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley this season, particularly on the offensive end.

Mobley flashed some pretty impressive scoring chops in the Cavaliers' preseason opener, posting 19 points in 16 minutes in a win over the Chicago Bulls.

The 23-year-old has largely been criticized for being a bit too one-dimensional offensively, but he is aiming to expand his repertoire this season, which is music to Darius Garland's ears.

“It opens up a lot of open threes for us,” Garland said, via Jackson Flickinger of Fear the Sword. “When he’s aggressive, it’s pretty hard to stop. A seven-foot unicorn like that is pretty different.”

But in order for Mobley to truly live up to the "unicorn" moniker, he will have to be a bit more versatile.

Last season, the former No. 3 overall pick averaged 15.7 points per game on 58.0/37.3/71.9 shooting splits. Those percentages look impressive, but Mobley only attempted 1.2 three-pointers a night, so his efficiency was on very low volume.

Cleveland is hoping Mobley will be able to consistently extend his range a bit more during the 2024-25 campaign, especially considering that the Cavs ranked just 19th in three-point percentage last year.

Mobley didn't really show any long-distance prowess during the Cavaliers' preseason opener, going 0-for-2 on three-point attempts versus the Bulls.

Hopefully, the USC product is able to confidently shoot more triples as time progresses. After all, Cleveland handed him a max contract extension over the summer.

We'll see if Garland's assessment of Mobley ends up coming to life this season.